Air compressor: Oil or Oil-less?

[valley]

What is your opinion about Oil lubricated or Oil less compressors?
Can an Oil-less compressor last as long as an Oil lubed compressor?

Thankyou Richard

 

[Alan L.]

After much research I just purchased an oiled compressor on the basis that it should last longer and is not as loud as oilless. Having said that, I have an small oilless compressor that is still kicking after 10 years. It is so loud I can' stand it.

 

[k0ua]

I have an oil-less compressor. They are loud, no make that really loud! and don't last as long, they are cheaper, and ok for the average homeowner, but if you use a lot of air tools, probably better to invest in an oil model. my 2 centavos

James K0UA

 

[gengine]

Make that three of us that are against the oil less compressors. They said it. Lots of noise, and I mean lots of noise. The oil lubricated compressors are noisy but you can still have a conversation. They also last a lot longer. I've got an old oiled compressor my dad bought new in '83 for his cabinet shop that has seen 3 new tanks. I keep rusting them out even with the weekly water drains. I can only get an oil less one to last three years or so. One was a 35 gallon tank, the others were pancake compressors.

 

[Bird]

The oilless compressors work just fine, but as others have said, they tend to be very loud. I was told by a technician who works on both at a dealer that sells both, but mostly oiled compressors that under normal conditions an oilless will have about one-tenth the lifespan of an oiled compressor. I frequently run my oiled compressor continuously for quite a long time, but you must not do that with an oilless or you'll shorten it's life even more. I tried using a 30 gallon horizontal Craftsman (by DeVilbiss) oilless in the mid-90s and had to rebuild it about every 6 to 8 months. The only good news is that parts are fairly cheap, it's easy to rebuild one, and I can do that in less than an hour; probably less than a half hour.:laughing:

I've told people in the past that there are two reasons for that nice housing or cover over the oilless. One is because if you could see what's under there you wouldn't buy it and two is for that housing to keep you from getting hurt when it tries to throw parts at you.:laughing: If you think they're loud when running normally, wait until you hear what they sound like with parts flying around inside and cracking that housing.:licking:

But for occasional use, and to never leave it running more than 10 minutes maximum, they aren't too bad.

 

[JDgreen227]

Have a 3/4 hp, Craftsman oil-less compressor going on 21 years old now, still works great. But the ONLY thing it gets used for is tire inflation. PERIOD.

For real jobs, like running an air wrench or nailer, I'd choose an oiler every time, got a C-H that is still running strong after 20 years, but it is only used about a dozen times a year.

So much depends on what you want to use your compressor for. For just inflation, oil-less cannot be beat, but for sustained operation with big PSI requirements, oiled cannot be beat.

 

[crash325]

have 2 old compressors to restore. Both are oiled types, 1 vertical twin and a V twin. V twin has about a 50 gallon tank and a 220v motor. All the wiring has been screwed up. Plan - 1 wire the motor direct to make sure it runs. Then try to figure out the pressure switch. Plug a bunch of holes (threaded) in the tank, install pressure gauge.

Other 1, had a 2 HP motor and it stalled out in about 10 minuets. No idea what the pressure was as the gauge is broken. Guess it needs a 3 HP 220V motor.

Again wiring is messed up on both, extra holes in tanks and gauges not working.

All good suggestions welcome. :thumbsup:

 

[techwrtr2]

I have an oil-less compressor. They are loud, no make that really loud! and don't last as long, they are cheaper, and ok for the average homeowner, but if you use a lot of air tools, probably better to invest in an oil model. my 2 centavos

James K0UA

I have an oil-less compressor. If I were still doing body work as a hobby, I would be dumping that piece of junk for a much larger oiled design. I bought it in a pinch while in the middle of a project and didn't have any money to buy what I really needed.

 

[2manyrocks]

The one advantage of oil less is in an application like where the compressor will be sitting on a pitched roof. An oil compressor would need to sit on the ground and use more hose--which is probably better anyway.

 

[PILOON]

The one advantage of oil less is in an application like where the compressor will be sitting on a pitched roof. An oil compressor would need to sit on the ground and use more hose--which is probably better anyway.

More hose would be like a larger tank and the compressor would cycle less, in fact many user manuals suggest longer hoses rather than using extension cords.